The top Democrat in the state Senate denounced the Trump White House’s decision to slash $106 million in aid to Massachusetts’ public schools, calling it “horrific and cruel.”

Massachusetts — and other majority-Democrat states — “are now under attack” by Republican President Donald Trump as he shutters federal agencies and trims spending across the government, Senate President Karen E. Spilka said.

“He’s targeting us. He’s got people out there sweeping, you know, Massachusetts residents up,” in immigration raids, Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, said during a news conference at the State House in Boston. “We need to protect our residents, defend our values, and help lead Massachusetts.”

Spilka’s comments came as Democrats who control the upper chamber announced an open-ended effort to try to resist Trump’s actions at the state level.

The effort, billed as “Respond 2025,” will “coordinate our response to federal action and help residents understand how these actions impact our state and our residents,” she said.

The White House announced last month that it was giving states until March 2026 to spend money allocated through the federal Education Stabilization Fund.

Read More: Trump administration cuts $106 million in Massachusetts for K-12 funding

In a statement, Gov. Maura Healey’s office said it learned about the decision at 5:03 p.m. on Friday — three minutes after it officially took effect. Some 41 states nationwide, at a cost of about $2 billion, are believed to be impacted by the executive action.

“At a time when students are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, we need to be doing everything we can to address learning loss and the youth mental health crisis. Instead, President Trump suddenly ripped away more than $100 million in funding that is supposed to go right to Massachusetts students and schools,” Healey said.

“This action is jeopardizing mental health care and math tutoring for our students, as well as projects that are already underway to enhance school security and ensure that the air in our school buildings is clean. Massachusetts has been making important progress helping students recover from the pandemic, but President Trump is trying to take us backwards,” the Democratic governor, who has ratcheted up her criticism of the Republican White House over its first 100 days in power, said.

The cuts announced Monday leaves few Massachusetts school districts untouched.

Springfield will lose more than $47 million in assistance, while New Bedford is in line to lose some $15 million in funding, according to an administration analysis.

Despite those sweeping reductions, several senators declined MassLive’s requests for comment for the impact on their hometown districts.

State Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell, joined by colleagues nationwide, has filed a battery of lawsuits challenging the White House’s blizzard of executive orders.

On Tuesday, Spilka said she “[applauded]” Campbell and other state attorneys general “[who] are blocking” Trump.

“I am hoping that more happens on a federal level, because he is usurping congressional power again,” Spilka said.